Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman toured Israel’s southern border with the Gaza Strip, during which he declared the military’s preparedness to handle any threat on any of Israel’s fronts, including those from the Islamic Republic of Iran and its Lebanese proxy Hezbollah. “You know, we hear these threats for many years, we do not get excited. And I suggest to all those along the northern border to really think carefully about what they are doing. They really should not test the IDF nor the state of Israel, and we are ready for any scenario, ready for a multi-arena scenario,” Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said.
Defense Minister Lieberman also referred to the ongoing protests along Israel’s security barrier with the Palestinian enclave, stressing that the residents of Gaza are wasting their time and effort. Instead, Lieberman called once against on the Palestinian residence of Gaza to “take charge of their own fate.” “There’s a trained and determined army here, backed by a determined people who back the army. There are also the residents surrounding Gaza who are determined and are willing to give the army the breathing room it needs. This is an unbeatable combination. They (Gazans) are wasting their time and effort. I expect that Gaza residents will take charge of their own fate and not allow Hamas to mislead them,” Lieberman said.
The unrest along the Gaza border with Israel continues, as a series of mass protests in the enclave reached its half-way mark. The protest campaign, dubbed the Great March of Return, is leading up to the 15th of May, when Palestinians mark Nakba Day, the Arabic term for the ‘Day of Catastrophe’, during which they commemorate their displacement during the founding of the state of Israel in 1948. While Israel has made an apparent effort to avoid Palestinian casualties during the protests along the security barrier, it has warned the demonstrators time-and-again not to approach the security fence. As such, Israeli soldiers used loudspeakers to convey warnings in Arabic to individuals who approached the border fence. Despite the warnings, however, six Palestinians were killed over the weekend and 12 others were wounded by Israeli sniper fire, bringing the death-toll to at least 35 Palestinians.